Australian Museum Trust

Our 11 Trustees play a valuable role in monitoring the performance of the Australian Museum (AM), assisting with strategic planning processes and acting as advocates for the institution. They are appointed for three year terms with a maximum of nine consecutive years of service. The Governor of NSW, in consultation with the Minister for the Arts, appoints our Trustees.

Brian was appointed President of the Australian Museum Trust in January 2023 after appointment as a Trustee in January 2021. He also chairs the Building and Development Committee and is a member of the Audit and Finance Committee.

Brian is an experienced executive, leadership mentor, and investor. He is currently the Group Executive at Quantium, responsible for Financial Services globally and Quantium Health, and is Chair of Beforepay, a Sydney-based Fintech startup. He is also an angel investor in and advisor to several other early-stage companies.

Brian served as CEO of the Westpac Banking Group from 2015 to 2019. Prior to this, Brian spent 15 years in senior executive roles at major banks in Australia and the UK. Prior to his banking roles, Brian spent ten years as a financial services strategy consultant at First Manhattan Consulting Group in New York, Melbourne, and San Francisco.

He has previously served as Chair of Save the Children Australia, Director of the Financial Markets Foundation for Children, and Chair of the Business Advisory Committee of the Australian National University.

He graduated with a degree in European History from Princeton University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Brian also served as Chair of the Australian Museum Foundation from December 2020 to December 2022.

Emeritus Professor Shirley Alexander AM has more than 30 years experience in the education sector, spanning K-12, TAFE and higher education with a particular focus on STEM. Previous role held for 15 years was as Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Education and Students) at UTS with overall responsibility for the university’s key priorities in teaching and learning, the student experience, and the use of data analytics in all aspects of the university's work.

Shirley is an experienced board director having served three terms as a Trustee of the Powerhouse Museum with particular contributions in learning and technology, and a member of three successive Australian Government teaching and learning committees. Shirley is currently Board Chair of the International Grammar School and a non-executive Director of the board for seven Australasian Navitas Colleges.

Shirley was appointed to the Trust in January 2023 and serves as the statutory Trustee appointed for her knowledge of, or experience in, education. Shirley is also the Education Committee Chair, and a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Melissa Applin is an emerging arts and culture professional with a strong foundation in archaeology, museum education, youth leadership, and performing arts. Currently completing a Bachelor of Archaeology at Macquarie University, she has worked as a Pasifika Museum Education Presenter at the Australian Museum and has held roles at Macquarie University in outreach and student services. She has worked on a variety of community and independent theatre companies as a performer, freelance designer, director and choreographer.

Melissa’s leadership experience includes serving as President of the Macquarie Musical Society and contributing to youth-focused and community initiatives in the performing arts, including Matavai Pacific Cultural Arts and the Australian Theatre for Young People’s Youth Advisory Board. In 2025, she deepened her engagement with community and culture as a contestant in the Miss Samoa NSW Pageant, earning the title of First Runner-Up. She is a founder of ‘Measina Theatre’, a theatre company prioritising Australian and Pacific voices in the performing arts.

Melissa was appointed to the Trust in October 2025 and is also a Member of the Education Committee.

Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt is a Eualayai/Gamillaroi woman and the Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology, Sydney. She is a graduate of the UNSW Law School and has a Masters and SJD from Harvard Law School. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia, a Fellow of the Australian Academy of the Humanities and a founding member of the Australian Academy of Law.

She has published numerous textbooks on Indigenous legal issues. Larissa is an award-winning filmmaker and novelist. She is a board member of the Sydney Dance Company and Chair of the Community Spirit Foundation and a Board Member of the National Library of Australia. Larissa was awarded the 2009 NAIDOC Person of the Year Award, 2011 NSW Australian of the Year and an Order of Australia in 2020 for her work in the law, education and the arts. She is the host of Speaking Out on ABC Radio.

Larissa was appointed to the AM Trust in August 2019 and serves as the statutory Trustee appointed for her knowledge of, or experience in, Australian Indigenous culture. She is also a Trustee of the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation.

Professor Kathy Belov is Pro-Vice-Chancellor Global and Research Engagement and a Professor of Comparative Genomics in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences in the Faculty of Science at the University of Sydney. Kathy’s research expertise is in comparative genomics and immunogenetics of Australian wildlife and she has played a leading role in deciphering the genomes of the iconic koala, bilby, platypus, echidna, wallaby and opossum.

For the last 20 years her research team has played a pivotal role in bringing the Tasmanian devil back from the brink of extinction through its work on devil immunity, genetics and population management. Kathy co-edited the book, Saving the Tasmanian Devil: Recovery through Science-based Management, and has published over 200 peer-reviewed papers, including in Nature, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science and PLoS Biology.

Kathy is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and has received two Eureka Prizes, the Crozier Medal and the Fenner Medal from the Australian Academy of Science for her research. She is a scientific advisory board member of the Taronga Conservation Society of Australia, a former member of the NSW Koala expert advisory committee, a past president of the Genetics Society of Australasia and a Fellow of the Royal Society of NSW. She is a board member of Science Australia Gender Equity. In 2024 Kathy was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Science from the University of Glasgow, Scotland, in recognition of her ongoing commitment to research excellence and her work to foster impactful research through international collaborations.

Kathy joined the AM Trust in January 2021 and is the statutory Trustee appointed for her knowledge of, or experience in, science. Kathy is also the Science Advisory Board Chair.

Michael Chisholm, CEO of LGT Wealth Management, is responsible for leading all aspects of LGT Wealth Management Australia, providing leadership and support to a team of more than 450 employees.

Since he joined the finance industry in 1992, Michael has built an international career spanning Sydney, London, New York and Stamford in a succession of pivotal management roles. In 2015 Michael partnered with fellow UBS peers to establish Crestone, an employee-owned wealth management firm. In 2022, Crestone was acquired by LGT, the private bank owned by the Princely Family of Liechtenstein, to create LGT Crestone. In September 2025 LGT Crestone rebranded to LGT Wealth Management, bringing together the tailored service and long-term perspectives of a privately owned firm with the global expertise and heritage of a multinational entity.

Today, LGT Wealth Management Australia advises on almost $50bn in assets, while LGT globally manages $685bn. In Australia, the firm also supports more than 250 not-for-profit clients representing over $5.1bn in assets, reflecting a strong connection to the purpose-led sector.

Prior to the formation of Crestone, Michael spent 19 years with UBS in a series of key global positions encompassing finance, Chief Risk Officer, Chief Operating Officer, and Managing Director and Head of UBS Wealth Management Australia.

Michael was appointed to the AM Trust in May 2026.

Brett Clegg is APAC Chair and Group Chief Commercial Officer at global corporate advisory and governance firm Sodali & Co. His career has spanned professional services, investment banking, publishing and the technology sectors. Brett spent more than two decades in senior executive and editorial roles in the media industry, responsible for some of Australia’s leading news brands including The Australian Financial Review, where he rose from cadet journalist to the position of CEO and Publisher, as well as The Australian and The Daily Telegraph.

He is a Patron and former Chair of Sydney Dance Company, one of Australia’s premier performing arts organisations. In his role at Sydney Dance Company, Brett led the capital campaign to fundraise support for its contribution to the Walsh Bay Arts Precinct and helped steward the organisation through the challenges of COVID-19 with an acclaimed return to the local and international stage.

Brett specialises in strategic communication, issues management, business innovation and capital markets transactions. He has extensive Board and governance experience, including in the technology and education sectors.

Brett has a Bachelor of Business with Distinction from the University of Technology Sydney and a Masters in Advanced Finance from the University of NSW. He is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Brett was appointed to the Trust in January 2023. He is also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee.

Jennifer Dalitz is a board director and Audit and Risk Committee Chair with more than two decades of governance experience. She is Chair of Bank Australia, a Non-Executive Director of the Australian Meat Processor Corporation, and a Trustee of the Lizard Island Reef Research Foundation.

Previously Chair of Qudos Bank and Chair of its Merger Committee, Jen oversaw the bank’s merger with Bank Australia. She brings deep expertise in finance, audit and risk, together with a strong track record in strategy, organisational transformation and innovation.

Jen’s executive career spans financial services and management consulting, including senior leadership, advisory and CEO roles. An internationally recognised advocate for inclusion and diversity, she has worked with corporate, government and professional services organisations to increase the representation of women in leadership.

Jen holds an Executive MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and a Bachelor of Arts in Accountancy. She is a Fellow of CPA Australia and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. Jen was appointed to the Australian Museum Trust in January 2023, is Chair of its Audit and Risk Committee and is a member of its Building and Development Committee.

Cathy is an internationally recognised Australian physicist and served as Australia’s ninth Chief Scientist from January 2021 to December 2024.

Prior to this, she had an extensive research and management career at CSIRO, was CSIRO’s Chief Scientist from 2018-2021, and is a current CSIRO Board Director.

Cathy’s scientific excellence and influential leadership have been recognised with numerous awards and fellowships, including election to the Australian Academy of Science in 2020, and an Order of Australia for service to research science and to the advancement of women in physics.

She received the Australian Institute of Physics Medal for Outstanding Service to Physics in 2016. She is the President of the Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering (ATSE) and has been a Fellow since 2008. Cathy is also an honorary Fellow of the Australian Institute of Physics (2019).

Cathy has been a strong advocate for women in STEM across the globe, focusing strongly on equality and diversity in the science sector.

While working at CSIRO, Cathy made significant contributions to the understanding of nitride semiconductors and superconducting electronics. Cathy and her team’s most successful application is the LANDTEM sensor system used to locate valuable deposits of minerals deep underground, such as nickel sulphide, silver and gold.

Cathy’s scientific excellence and influential leadership have been recognised with numerous awards and fellowships, including being elected to the Australian Academy of Science in 2020, being named an Officer in the Order of Australia in 2020 for service to research science and the advancement of women in physics, receiving the Clunies Ross Medal of the Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering in 2015, and receiving the Australian Institute of Physics Medal for Outstanding Service to Physics in 2016. She was elected as a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Science and Engineering in 2008.

Cathy’s previous roles include membership of the Prime Minister’s Science, Engineering and Innovation Council, President of the Australian Institute of Physics, President of Science and Technology Australia, Editor-in-Chief of Superconductor Science and Technology journal, and a council member for Questacon.

Cathy is committed to helping Australia realise the transformative potential of critical technologies and meet the climate challenge. She is an inspiration to women in STEM across the globe and focused strongly on equality and diversity in the science sector.

Cathy joined the Australian Museum Trust on 1 January 2025.

Josephine is co-owner and Principal of construction company Buildcorp, founded 36 years ago with her husband Tony.

She is a professional company director and serves on a number of private, public and not-for-profit boards, including Washington H. Soul Pattinson, Growthpoint Properties Australia, the Green Building Council of Australia and the Buildcorp Foundation.

Josephine was formerly the Chair of the Australian Sports Commission, Chair of the Sport Diplomacy Advisory Council (DFAT), a non-executive director of The Trust Company, the Property Council of Australia, Opera Australia, the Centenary Institute of Medical Research, the Parramatta Park Trust and the YWCA NSW.

Josephine served as Chair of Australian Women's Rugby Union, was a member of the Nominations Committee of Rugby Australia and the Australian Rugby Foundation and through Buildcorp has financially supported the rugby community for over 34 years.

She is a Fellow of the University of Sydney and in 2017 was made a Member of the Order of Australia.

Josephine was appointed to the Trust in January 2019 and elected as Deputy President in October 2026. She is also a member of the Building and Development Committee.

Carmel Tebbutt is an experienced leader who has worked extensively across the government and non-government sectors. Carmel was a member of the NSW Parliament for 17 years with responsibility for key ministerial portfolios in health, education, the environment and community services. She was the first female Deputy Premier in NSW.

Since leaving Parliament, Carmel has transitioned to the not-for-profit sector, holding CEO positions in health and education organisations including her current role as CEO of Odyssey House NSW, one of the state’s leading drug and alcohol rehabilitation services. Carmel has deep knowledge of government processes and decision-making, public policy development, issues management and governance.

Carmel has served on numerous boards and committees including as a director of Mental Health Australia, the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, Media Super and the Lysicrates Foundation. She is currently a director of the Sydney Local Health District and the Network of Alcohol and other Drugs Agencies.

Carmel joined the AM Trust in 2024 and is a member of the Education Committee.